Bleach: Ulquiorra Cifer (ISTJ)

Before, I launch into this, let me just say that I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but please keep an open mind. Basically, we narrowed him down to a certain set of functions and realized that he cannot be a feeler, due to no concept of emotions. That left us with only one option. Plus, there are some indications that he is more of a sensor than an intuitive (although I hate to dichotomize). Let me begin…

Si:

“So if I can’t see it, it’s not real. That is what I believe. Tell me. What is a heart? If I tore a whole in your chest, would I see it? If I split open your skull, would it be there?”

“Idiot. That’s what you get for charging into a fight before evaluating your enemy’s strength.”

Ulquiorra is standoffish and not quick to act. He initially presents as being more cautious. In the battle directly after his debut on Bleach, Ulquiorra initially watches his partner fight, and doesn’t bother to involve himself until later. This all suggests introvert.

Ulquiorra only believes what he can see. If he cannot see something, it must not exist. He struggles with the concept of emotions and heart, and tries to break them down to physical entities. (IE: “If I tore a whole in your chest, would I see it?”) He spends a large portion of the show trying to debunk these concepts. This all suggests that he is a sensor. (However, let me note that not all sensors will take this extreme stance.) Granted, the specific focus on heart and emotions ties to his thinking function, which will be touched on in the Te section.

Ulquiorra has the habit of killing certain victims in the exact same way: by stabbing them in the same location as his Hollow hole with his bare hand. The redundant method of killing which ultimately ties back to his own Hollow hole, suggests Si. Ulquiorra is also very repetitive in the way he speaks. He isn’t succinct and concise, like I would expect from Ni-Te. Rather, he says the same thing many times in a row with perhaps a few slight variations in wording. (See long quote in the Te section for an example.) Generally speaking, he repeats himself a lot, which is something the Si users are prone to, which is sometimes due to a desire to maintain or reinforce clarity.

Te:

“Sharing your feelings with someone on the verge of death, brings some sort of comfort to you humans. It’s an instinct to help minimize your fear and sorrow, but in reality it is impossible to know another’s emotions. Empathy is simply a meaningless human delusion.”

“Now come with me, little girl. Don’t speak. Yes is all I want to hear. If you say anything other than that, people will die. I don’t mean you. I’m talking about those who are closest to you. Don’t ask any questions. Don’t tell me anything. You have no rights. The only thing you do have is the rope holding the blade of the guillotine safely suspended above the necks of your friends. Make no mistake, little girl; this is not a negotiation. It’s an order.”

Ulquiorra clearly has little to no concept of emotions. He doesn’t understand them, and feels the desire to belittle others, like Ichigo or Orihime, for having them. This all suggested a thinker. At one point, he also declares weaklings to be pieces of trash, which is indicative of Te. Upon initially meeting Ichigo, he states that Ichigo isn’t even worth killing because he has no value (Te-Fi).

Ulquiorra is also very bossy and controlling. He initially asserts his power over Orihime, telling her very clearly in many different ways that she had no choice but to obey him. He denied her the right to say anything beyond “Yes”, and reminded her of what would happen if she decided to defy him. This scene demonstrates the rigid and absolute control that an Si-Te villain would want to assert over someone.

Ulquiorra reasserts his own control and power multiple times throughout the show, especially in regards to Orihime. For instance, he orders her to eat, and immediately follows up by asking her if she’d rather him shove it down her throat or have her fed intravenously. During his fight with Ichigo, Ulquiorra isn’t much different. He focuses on making Ichigo understand his power, and reinforces the idea that the battle is futile because he is far superior to Ichigo. Finally, at the end, he even orders Ichigo to kill him, and appears frustrated because “in the end, you just won’t do what I want.”

Fi:

“I’ve lost to you. My life no longer has any meaning.”

“My responsibilities are clear. My duty is to protect Las Noches until Lord Aizen returns. I haven’t received orders to take the life of this woman. Until those orders come, I will allow her to live. However, you are a different matter. Killing you would be absolutely within my duties of protecting Las Noches.”

Ulquiorra initially did desire connection to others on some level, but felt alien due to him being different from other hollows. He eventually finds something he can relate to, and feels satisfied for a time. Ultimately however, he just feels empty. (This is covered in a separate book.) Ulquiorra eventually wraps up his purpose and reason to live in duty to Lord Aizen. Ulquiorra expresses this absolute duty to Aizen, and refuses to deviate from his commands in any way. This is relatively standard for those with a combination of Si and Fi in their function stack. (You can parallel him to Kaname Tosen in this way, only Ulquiorra doesn’t go around stating values since he lacks high Fi.) Once Ichigo has all but killed him, Ulquiorra desires to die because his life no longer has any meaning. He has failed.

In spite of his general desire to bash the idea of emotions and heart, Ulquiorra seems to be questioning and seeking to understand them in a way, which points to a low feeling function. At the end right before death, he states that he has finally learned that his heart was in the palm of his hand the whole time. This all appeared to be low Fi’s self-discovery.

Ne:

“If you can still move in that condition, leave Hueco Mundo immediately. If you can’t move, then die there. No matter what, your path ends here, Soul Reaper.”

Ulquiorra’s inferior extraverted intuition surfaces primarily in the way he speaks. He is prone to laying out options, and declaring “if-then” scenarios to his victims. For instance, once he has defeated Ichigo for the first time, Ulquiorra lays out the potential paths forward. He states that if Ichigo can still somehow move, he should leave Hueco Mundo immediately. If he can’t, he would die where he laid. (Of course, mixing orders into the two “options” reinforces the presence of Te in his function stack.) He is shown doing similar things throughout his time in the show.

Ulquiorra is also shown speculating during battle, like when he’s trying to figure out if Ichigo had grown stronger. He comes up with three different guesses as to why, rather than latching onto one particular thing. Of course, his constant questioning of heart, emotions, and his attempt to explore these concepts while simultaneously bashing them can be indicative of his inferior Ne.